This invention relates generally to a hand operable sprayer and more particularly to a squeeze bottle aspirator that sprays or dispenses course material from the squeeze bottle without separate air ports to introduce and expel air from within the bottle.
Spraying devices common in the marketplace generally use air to form an air jet which facilitates the expulsion of fluids by atomizing the fluid before it is expelled from the spraying device out into the atmosphere. Most aspirators have a dispensing closure that incorporates a dip tube which allows for fluid to be conveyed from the lower portion of the container when the bottle is squeezed. The dispensing closure has an exit orifice integrally formed therewith. The dip tube is attached to the dispensing closure in a cylindrical attachment port on the side facing the interior of the container. The cylindrical port has a plurality of thin ribs spaced radially and extending axially along its inside diameter. When the dip tube is inserted into the cylindrical port, the ribs in conjunction with the outside diameter of the dip tube create gaps or channels between the inner diameter of the cylindrical port and the outside diameter of the dip tube. These channels allow air to be forced into the fluid stream as the bottle is squeezed. The air is entrained into the fluid flow causing turbulence of the fluid as it mixes and exits the aspirator through the orifice of the closure.
A consideration of this solution is that the fluid is finely atomized, which requires the addition of air to the fluid. However, there is a need for a fluid to be sprayed without being atomized or mixed with air. The present device is designed so the fluid is expelled from the sprayer, in the form of a coarse spray, without any air being mixed therewith.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a sprayer that lacks separate air intake ports, yet can dispense material from within a bottle.
The present invention may be used with squeeze bottles currently known in the art, rendering the sprayer economical as well as easy to use.
According to the present invention, the spraying device is comprised of a tube retainer, an orifice cup and a closure.
The tube retainer has a product outlet port, a post, and at least one tangential aperture through which fluid is expelled from within the container.
The orifice cup has an annular mixing or turbulence chamber wherein the fluid from within the container is agitated before being expelled out of the orifice cup through a discharge orifice.
A dip tube depends from the tube retainer and defines a path for the fluid from the bottom of the container to the annular turbulence chamber.
When the container is squeezed, fluid is forced up through the dip tube into the mixing chamber and out of the container through the discharge orifice in the orifice cup. Any air that is introduced into the container and expelled out of the container is carried out through the same path as the fluid. The sprayer lacks any distinct or separate air ports.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.